Symptoms can vary from very mild to severe – sometimes requiring hospital treatment.

Most women have mild symptoms that may include one or more of the following:

• Lower abdominal pain or aching (a bit like a period pain)
• Pain deep inside during sex
• Bleeding in between periods or after sex
• Unusual vaginal discharge

A few women become very ill with severe lower abdominal pain, a high temperature and nausea and vomiting. In this situation you need to seek urgent medical attention.

PID is easily treated with antibiotics but if not treated promptly can lead to scarring of the fallopian tubes and serious problems such as infertility, ectopic pregnancy (a baby growing in an abnormal place outside of the womb) abscess formation and persistent pain in the lower abdomen.

If you have PID we recommend that you should have a full set of tests for sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

• From an untreated sexually transmitted infection that spreads from the cervix to inside the womb and tubes.
• From a bacterial infection that spreads from elsewhere in the abdomen (e.g. acute appendicitis)
• Occasionally after surgical termination (or other surgery where an instrument is passed into the womb)
• Rarely after fitting an intrauterine device (IUD or coil) but the risk is greatly reduced by testing and treating for any infection or STI beforehand.